{"id":1927,"date":"2024-03-20T13:44:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T13:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realmsofdespair.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=1927"},"modified":"2024-03-20T13:44:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T13:44:41","slug":"cry-of-despair-98","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/realmsofdespair.com\/index.php\/cry-of-despair-98\/","title":{"rendered":"Cry of Despair #98"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Grabbing Nelkum, hoisting him .. Tokai escapes east; Genge: Barbarians<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n|   Editor's Note                                                             |  \n|                                                                             |  \n|   Roleplay, Stories and Poetry    - Sub-Editor: Aragon                      |  \n|     Nations' News:                                                          |  \n|       Khzad                           - by Romani                           |  \n|       Pixie                           - by Romani                           |  \n|       Quendi                          - by Romani                           |  \n|       Uruk'hai                        - by Romani                           |  \n|       Hobbit                          - by Romani                           |  \n|       Ilythiiri                       - by Romani                           |  \n|       Il'Kahn                         - by Mari                             |  \n|       Gralthai                        - by Mari                             |  \n|     Stories:                                                                |  \n|       Nameless Story                  - Anonymous                           |  \n|       Story of the Drow               - Tokai                               |  \n|     Poetry:                                                                 |  \n|       Would it Matter?                - Aragon                              |  \n|                                                                             |  \n|   News From Around The Realms     - Sub-Editor: Aslan                       |\n|     Reunion Memories                - Aslan                                 |  \n|                                                                             |\n|   Quests, Games And Humour        - Sub-Editor: Babui                       |\n|     What Is This?                   - by Babui                              |\n|     Titles!                         - by Babui                              |\n|     Humor Submissions               - by Babui                              |\n|     Wedding Congratulations         - by Babui                              |\n|     Cry of Despair Quest            - by Alysira                             |\n|                                                                             |\n|   RoD Knowledge And Information   - Sub-Editor: Genge                       |\n|     A Guide To Barbarians           - by Genge                              |\n+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n   \n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| Editor's Note                                                     By: Genge |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nHello,\n  I chose a rather colourful border for this month - in my defense, it's August\nand you're expected to make things shiny and colourful. That's not what this\nnote is about.\n  Some people submit articles without names or titles on them. It's great that\nyou want to contribute, but if you don't include your name and the title of the\narticle in your mudmail, we cannot promise that either will be in the Cry.\n                                                                   - The Editor\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                             |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| Roleplay -> News                                                 By: Romani |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nTo the Dwarves of these Realms,\n \n   Time, the ravager of kings and kingdoms, has struck the Reach. The dwarven\ncommunity has begun taking the steps towards rebuilding the Reach, reopening\nthe mines and rekindling the fires.\n   The Bastonville has reopened, and Nvuz has been serving drinks again. He\nwas quite surprised to see many old dwarves at the table, drinking merrily. We\nordered so many Stoneheft Stouts that the poor barkeep had to water it down\njust to serve us all.\n   Also, there's a new Thane.\n   And finally, this is a call to all dwarves who wish to join the Nation, and\nto those who may have left us before. Your faces would be a welcome sight in\nthe Reach.\n\n----------\n\nThis is PNN, your source for Pixie News\n \nThe ship PNS Taffy has been released from quarantine.\n \nThe Taffy was on a cargo run from Ocean Keep to Irae. It stopped in Irae\nIt was stuck in Irae when it was learned that the plague in the city had\nbeen spread to the ship.  One of the crew, a flight lieutenant  Pollybell \n'Pippy' Weedle, was struck with the Illness. Fortunately, Cleric Meedah\nRabbling was able to find a cure for the illness.\n \nThe Taffy has returned to Ocean Keep. Air Commodore Eashavir Ruk'Thop, the\nCaptain of the Taffy was unavailable for comment. He is rumored to be the\nnext Captain of the PNS Tiramisu, the new Pixie schooner\n \nIn other news, Faradhi has been appointed the new Pixie Divine.\nFarahdi, a cleric of Sh'vath will be donning the feathered hat and robes\nof the high office. He will be responsible for the health and protection of\nthe pixie spirit.\n\n----------\n\nA new Elven High Council was appointed on May 26, 2005 by our own Aran Gildeth\nCalon Dracos and the seats are as follows:\n \nAran (King) - Gildeth Calon Dracos\nTaren (Prince) - Shareed Marius Dracos\nAran en Turnar (King's Councilor) - Bodileir Caliver\nCala'Amandil (High Priest) - Cleryst Waterlord\nMegiltura (Sword Master) - Sotei\nVal'istar (Archmage) - Talisha Dracos\nKiirar en' Mainka (Chronicler of Trade) - Annale Firestorm\n \nThe Faradome Festival (A celebration of Summer.) - was held on Thursday, June\n30th.  Thanks goes out to Annale Firestorm, Sotei and Aran Gildeth for all of\ntheir hard work in preparing for the festival.  A wonderful time was had by\nall who attended.  There was a great deal of food and games along with prizes.\nA bard competition was held as well, the winner being our own Aran en\nTurnar, Bodileir Caliver for best performance! Congratulations Bodileir!   \n\n----------\n\nA note from Megiltura Sotei:  If you are interested in joining the elven\nmilitary, you will be welcome among us. We currently need warriors of all\nkinds to defend these lands. I ask all elves to contribute to this cause in\none way or another. Let us keep the peace and drive away any threats that may\nhaunt this land. (For more information, contact Sotei or see the board in\nArborlon's Archive Hall)\n \nThe Elven Nation is calling for all elvish families to submit their family\nhistory or to donate books that would be of interest to the nation and its\ncitizens.  Scribes will be available to copy those books or pages which you\nwish to keep in your family's possession but desire the nation to have a\ncopy of. (If you have any questions, contact Talisha or visit the board in\nArborlon.)\n \nApplications to the Istimamen' en Selu (Academy of Magical Arts) are now being\naccepted.  Anyone wishing to enroll at the academy, either as a student or a\nteacher, should send their application to Talisha Dracos.  All applicants will\nbe contacted for an interview prior to enrollment.\n\nThere are many new activities sprouting up in Arborlon and so many more that\ncould be started.  Please bring your Elvish Character to the hometown and see\nwhat's new! Don't have an elf? What are you waiting for?!  New members and old\nalike are welcome.  If you have questions about what there is to do and see in\nArborlon, please contact Aran Gildeth or any of the council members for more\ndetails.\n\n----------\n\nFrom the Opallinoc News Bureau:\n \nDateline the Great Bonfire in Opallinoc -\nThe Summer Solstice celebration was over and Klaatu surveyed the remnants.\nMuttering about cost overruns and insurance for the Uruk'hai exuberance, Klaatu\nhad a plan. Scanning the area, he spied Raj, the Uruk'hai Battlemaster, and\nLanthaos, who had aspirations of being Trade Minister, lounging about.\nHe strode toward them, keeping as straight a path as possible given the effects\nof Meeka's swill. Klaatu said, \"How about a little adventure eh?\" Lanthaos\nraised his head, looking curious. Raj just groaned, he knew. Klaatu further\nexplained his money making idea - Mithril hall for plunder and gold!\n \nDateline Mithril Hall -\nWith Raj and Lanthaos in tow, Klaatu arrived at Mithril Hall. Finding a lack\nof gold on the dWARven denizens residing there, a midasing mage was engaged.\nThe semi-sober trio raced up and down the hallways, slashing and hacking\nanything that they came upon. Looting corpses and actually dumping piles of\nloot at the mercenary mage's feet. The volume of items overwhelmed the Midas\nmage, causing a side trip to DarkHaven for mana potions. Again the trio, now\nmore sober and getting a lust for combat, charged at anything that moved\nDrizzt, Cattie, Artemis, Pwent and his battleragers - all were no match.\nFinally the gold was totaled, the mage paid, shares distributed and funding\nfor the Autumnal Equinox Gala provided.\n\n----------\n\n          Greetings all Hobbits in the land. In the spring we had a joyous\ncelebration to welcome all the new baby Hobbits into the Burrows. I am\nsorry but those babies are not returnable. Lately our police have been\nreceiving many calls late at night. I must remind you that your neighbors\nnecks are not proper feeding grounds for your young vampires. A large\nfine will be issued for each attack and pint of blood lost, you must teach\nyour baby proper vampire etiquette.\n          My sympathy go out to the many parents of thieves who thought\nthat their children might support their families by bringing home large\nsums of lunch money. In time I am sure your childrens' bruises will heal\nor they may find broken noses quite attractive. Please parents of thieves\nremember that warrior babies can be quite deadly. As for those of you\nwho sent your ranger babies on an exploration, they have been found,\nI am sorry.\n         Now that school has begun and all of you are storing away your\nherbs, vegetables and tobacco please feel free to pick the leaves\nfrom our blackberry bushes and add them to your collection.\nthough we try to have peace with every nation, here are a few sample\nrecipes you might enjoy.\n\n----------\n\n         Beat 8 lizard eggs till you feel better, then scramble them and put\nthem in the bottom of a pan. Mix together equal parts of milk and ground\ntroll meal, add two cups of blackberries and put them all together in a pan.\nNow add a bit of sugar to sprinkle on top and then cover the pan with plenty\nof pixie wings, with or without pixies attached.  Bake in the coals of the \nfire until knife dipped in troll meal doesn't scream. Serve with wine and\ncheese if you like. \n                       Footprint pie\nEmpty the mud from a half-ogre footprint and carefully allow it\nto dry. Add one broken heart, Sprinkle with plenty of cinnamon and\nsugar to get rid of any bitter flavor. Add the meat from 4 crabs\none noisy chipmunk, and cover well with the fat of a flatterer\nwith a lying tongue. Top with plenty half-elf promises and cover\nwith cheddar cheese. This tasty dinner seems to be able to cook\nitself, perhaps because it's so close to the fires of hell.\n                  sincerely Zasperlyn\n                  Thain of the Hobbit People\n\n----------\n\nAfter a slight break, I have come to terms with exactly what I have planned\nfor the lovely Drow Nation. Although I am not giving up any details just yet,\nI will be launching a large plot for all Drow Role-players (old and new) to\ntake part in.\n \nThis plot will mark the return of role-play to the DN, and is nearly ready for\nlaunch! So everyone keep your bloody eyes peeled... or we'll rip them right\nout of your faces.\n\nIf you wish to take part of this action, please check the Drow Nation Board in\nthe City of Iniquity.\n\nPhalar\n\n----------\n\n            ATTENTION ORCS AND HALF-ORCS OF THE REALMS OF DESPAIR!!!\n \n  The grand Lesser Chieftain has summoned all orcs to the caves of Mount\nKrozloy, as once more we will be opening the military facilities! For\ntoo long has our proud mountain's only defense been the uncivilized\nmilitia.\n  Any who are interested in the highest form of service to the throne\nof Krozloy should come armed and prepared to fight!\n\n----------\n\n                                [-]\n                                  |\n                                  |\n                          |       |\n                          |      ---\n                         ---     '-'\n                         -  ____|_____\n                      ____|__\/    |    \/\n                     \/    | \/     |   \/\n                    \/     |(      |  (\n                   (      | \\     |   \\\n                    \\     |  \\____|____\\   \/|\n                    \/\\____|___`---.----` .' |\n                .-'\/      |  \\    |__.--'    \\\n              .'\/ (       |   \\   |.          \\\n           _ \/_\/   \\      |    \\  | `.         \\\n            `-.'    \\.--._|.---`  |   `-._______\\\n               ``-.-------'-------'------------\/\n                   `'._______________________.'   \nThe Ships are at sea as the Gith buy and trade with the wealthy\nof the lands. Any wishing to participate may do so by contacting\none of the following. Aslan, Captain (Gralthai Pirates) \nMari, Queen (Githyanki) Heathir, Queen (Githzerai)\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                             |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| Roleplay -> Stories - > Nameless Story                        By: Anonymous |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nA small girl, her two braids bouncing as she skipped over the cobblestones \nthat made up Kestame Road, entered the Green Thumb with a bright smile. \n\n\"Morning, Olbion!\" She greeted the elderly shopkeeper brightly, her flushed\ncheeks giving away her activity outside. \n \nOlbion greeted Sefy with a slight nod and a grudging smile as he held out a \nhand for the package she carried. Wrapped in brown paper with a white string\nsecuring the folds, it was obvious something delicate was kept inside. A single\nwhite petal peeked from the opening at the top revealing that the last of \nlilies had finally bloomed for Olbion to tend to. The source behind the healthy\nglow now lingering upon each Elohai.\n \n\"Tilea says to be really nice to it!\" She giggles as she retrieves several\ncandies from the man and disappears once again into the street.\n\nFrom the open doorway, it was evident that life had once again begun within\nEldestra and people were returning to their normal routines. The sound of \nAntaar, now permanently appointed Captain of the Guard, could often be heard \ngiving instruction to his men. Tension had also been released with the \nimmediate dismissal of Caltrinia, now a former member of the Elohai Council. \nWith her angry departure new plans were made to strengthen inside the City \nwithout the corruption that was coming from within. Even Andraxus, who was \nher mentor, no longer had a voice without his sole supporter to feed his ideas\nto the others.\n \nThe sound of Sefy's voice once more carried through the open shop as she \ngreeted people tending their chores. As she always had, Sefy began handing out\nwreaths of jasmine to wear upon their heads in remembrance of their history. \nWhispers of an upcoming celebration quickly traveled from home to home. A \ncelebration of the lives restored and to pay tribute to those who had recently\npassed.\n \nAfter a seemingly endless wait, the gates of Eldestra were finally opened one\nmore.\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                             |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| Roleplay -> Stories - > Story of the Drow                         By: Tokai |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nAs the sun hits the streets again, Tokai is up and ready. Silk bathrobe on,\ntied with a belt at the waist, wooden knife, compact and mirror inside his\nbundle of clothes he's carrying, just like a normal citizen. \"I look just like\nthem now, with my oh so fair and white skin.\" \n \nAs the day went on, Tokai's confidence drained. For some reason, citizens\ncontinued to give him curious glances, despite his skin colour. Children stood\nand point while mothers hurriedly pulled their children along, whispering to\nthem. What is wrongggggg, he wails silently, as he glances nervously around\nhim.\n \nA gust of wind blew past, causing Tokai's bathrobe to flap in the wind behind\nhim. Mothers screams, covering their young children's eyes; fathers stares in\namazement...for whatever reason; girls giggled to each other while guys ogled\nTokai.\n \nTurning ten shades of red, Tokai speed walked away. \"Maybe this isn't the best\nthing to wear....\"\n \nLooking for a place to get changed and away from all these staring eyes, he\nbriskly walked out of the east gate when he bumped into a bunch of children\nsurrounding a statue, knocking him to the ground.\n\nChild A \"pretty please fly\"\nNelkum utters the words, 'yrl'.\n\nChild B \"pretty please ice\"\nNelkum utters the words, 'uqzgpuzre'.\n\nHis anger quickly turned into joy as he recognized Nelkum's voice. Looking up\nin the direction of the voice, he was surprised the statue was..not a statue,\nbut the friend he has been searching for so long! Nelkum!\n\n\"Nelkum my buddy! Where have you been?! Do you remember me?! I'm Tokai!!\" he\njoyfully blurted! Grabbing Nelkum in a tight embrace, \"my buddyy!!!\".\n\nThis bonding moment was interrupted by Child C as he poked Tokai and said...\n\"excuse me, it's my turn\". Bewildered, Tokai asks \"what your turn?\" \"My turn\nat Nelkum...would you let go of him please?\".\n\nChild C \"pretty please...\"\n\nTokai interrupts \"What your turn? Nelkum is MINE! MINE MINE MINE!\" Brandishing\nhis wooden knife, all protests quiet down...\n\nGrabbing Nelkum and hoisting him on his back, Tokai escapes east, running from\nthe protesting and whining voices. \"Oi...come back with Nelkum...!\" \"Hey!\nWhere do you think you're going?!\" \"Mummmyyyyyy....help meee...there's a big\nbig bad man in a bathrobe stealing Nelkum\".\n \nRunning hard, with Nelkum heavy on his back, Tokai didn't notice a white\npuddle of liquid on the ground. Slipping and falling flat on his face, causing\nNelkum to in turn, fall off his back, and land head first onto the ground in\nfront of him...Oh, the tragedy.\n \nHis face feels numb, but Tokai pushed himself up with his hands and looks\naround with a dazed expression. A small puddle of blood has pooled by Nelkum's\nhead. \"NelkuMMmmmmm!!!\" Tokai screamed helplessly. Rushing to his side, he\ncradled Nelkum in his arms, furiously trying to soak up the blood coming from\nhis head with his dirty bundle of clothes.\n \nOut of no where, a druid by the name Mauzait ran out from the trees. Shocked,\nhe said \"OMG! What did you do to Nelkum you elf!\". Like an expert, Mauzait\ngrabbed some nearby leaves and made a balm in which he spread over Nelkum's\nwounds. Satisfied that Nelkum is in good hands, Tokai handed Nelkum to Mauzait\n, peering intently at Nelkum's condition.\n\nTokai lets out a long breath of relief...Nelkum is found, Nelkum is going to\nbe ok, and we can all go home now...He closes his eyes momentarily. When he\nopened them, the druid was gone. But most importantly, Nelkum was gone too!\n \nTokai let out a bloodcurdling scream...\"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!\"\nAs he gathered his thoughts as to where they might be...he recalled a strange\nthing...the druid called him an elf. Drow, I'm a drow dammit. He brushed his\nhands together, trying to get rid of the foundation on his hand. \"mMm..they\nwon't come off\". He turned his white hands. Grabbing the mirror, he checked\nout his face. The puddle of white liquid has somehow..bleached his face white.\n...\"White-out, lovely..\" he muttered.\n \nUnable to bring Nelkum home, unable to enter the dark undergrounds of the drow\nagain, Tokai is destined to roam and explore the realms.... At least he can do\nso without being stared at.\n \nSo, I guess everyone lived happily ever after. I guess.\n \n \n--The End--\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                             |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| Roleplay -> Poetry -> Would It Matter?                           By: Aragon |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nBy Aragon D'Elear-Damsana\n \nIf I died alone today,\nWould it make a difference what I say?\n \nIf I fell asleep, never to awake,\nDid I pray the lord my soul to take?\n \nIf I left and was never seen again\nWould you look back and call me a friend?\n \nIf I lived my life, Just for me\nJust to see how selfish I could be,\n \nWould my friends turn their backs in the end,\nAnd never acknowledge I was their friend?\n \nWould I be missed by the people that mean the most,\nOr simply fade away just like a ghost?\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                             |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| News -> Misc. -> Reunion Memories                                 By: Aslan |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nDear all,\nFor those who went to the reunion I'd like you all to mudmail\nme what you feel were the highlights for you and what you\nwould like to have seen or done. Submissions close on the\n25th August 2005, only one submission per person (not including\nalts). The top three submissions will also be showcased in the\nCoD 100th Issue, so get writing and good luck.\n\nAslan de Rotheschilde\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                             |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| Entertainment -> Humor -> What's This?                            By: Babui |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nCan you guess what this is?!...\n \n244$$$$5$%1++*=-=*==+4$7.   =P112243$$$$$$$$$7    \n333$3$$$3$$$44$RR+*124++1+++77$$$$$$$333$335+     \n$33333333333$5PP$44$33$333$$33$3$33$3$$$$3P43P2-  \n733333333$333333333333$333$3333333333$$3$3$.43-*  \n74$33333$$3333$$333333333333333333$3$$2%43.30$72  \n5%333333333333333333333333333333333333$$71==7**+  \n43433333333333333333333333333333333333$3$$7477$7  \n44333333333333333333333$33333$$33$3471117$3744%4  \n422553333333$33333$3$3333333$$$3$*72      =37$$4  \n44+733$$$$41*-.-3%+%$$3$3$$3$$$$. '1-      -3741  \n*  +$$$34.     -4-  .13$$$$$$33-   +3       $237  \n   *$$$1       =R-    =$$$$3$$3    '3      =32$2  \n   -$$4'       .5=     =3$$3$$3-    =   '=7$$421  \n    2$34=       77   '*$$$$$33$334%777%$3$3$31*+  \n    .$$$$3471*=--=+743$33333333333$$$$3$$$$$- ''  \n   '''13$$3$$33333$333333333333333$33$$$$7-       \n    '''-%$333$$$333333333333$333$3$$$4+-          \n    '--*. '%4P55533333333335553$443$2211++=-'     \n   -- '=   .3555PPP555553$$351=-   =1*-=1717*     \n  ..   '    -224427777%7*+27%*-......*7-  .-      \n  \n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                             |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| Entertainment -> Humor -> Titles!                                 By: Babui |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nTical Umbramnia: RSVP Today@http:\/\/www.realmsreunion.com is hovering here.\nFanalax:  ______                     __               is sitting here.\nBelanna: |   __ \\.-----.--.--.-----.|__|.-----.-----. is sitting here.\nNehpets: |      <|  -__|  |  |     ||  ||  _  |     | is sitting here.\nElijah:  |___|__||_____|_____|__|__||__||_____|__|__| is sitting here.\nCorel:       Visit http:\/\/www.realmsreunion.com\/      is sitting here.\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                             |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| Entertainment -> Humor -> Submissions!                            By: Babui |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nIs there some log, bio, title, events, random personal thoughts...or even\nastrological or food stuff things you would like to share!? ANYTHING really...\n \nWhy not share your logs\/thoughts\/anything with the entire mud community?! Have\nyour logs and articles published on the CRY, so we all can know more new\nrandom stuff or laugh at cute little silly peoples and events =P HAR...I mean.\n...We can all be entertained in a nice polite fashion... *nod self*...\n \nOh oh! Or some ascii drawing you did you might want to share! ANYTHING!\nSend me your article\/log\/note\/whatever via mudmail! Yay! Send your mudmails to\nBabui now! =D\n \n         .-. .-.       .-. .-.\n        (   Y   )     (   Y   )\n         `|   |`       `|   |`\n          | 00|_       _|00 |\n          |  ,__)     (__,  |\n          |,_|           L_,|\n          ||               ||\n          | \\_,         ,_\/ |\n          |   |         |   |\n          |   |         |   |\n        (`  A  `)     (`  A  `)\n         '-' '-'       '-' '-'\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                             |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| Entertainment -> Weddings -> Congratulations                      By: Babui |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nA friend just got married? Want to congratulate them along with the whole of\nrealms?\n \nYou just got married? Want to announce to the whole of realms your love for\neach other?\n \nWell, here's the place!\n \nSend me a mudmail with the couples' name, the date of the wedding, and any\ncomments you would like to make =)\n \nStart NOW by showing you care! Start NOW by showing you are truly happy for\nthem\/yourself! Start NOW by announcing to the world!\n \n_____________________,88888e \n______________,a888b.9888888i \n______________888888888888888 \n______________88888888888888Y\n______________'8888888888888\n________________\"S888888888\"\n__________________\"7888888Y \n_____________________\"e88j \n______________________-> HaPpY WeDdInG!\n\n\n (\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\n  \\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/\n    \n      On 9 July 2005...\n      we witnessed the official bonding of two hearts, two bodies.....\n\n     ._.:*-*:._. Congratulations to Zendroax and Yelisa ._.:*-*:._.\n\n   As a personal note...FINALLY! Me and petty has been waiting for this\n   day for ages! A year ago, we were gonna do a double wedding or something,\n   but that never happened... Then we waited..and waited... Finally! Heh..\n   It's so nice seeing two friends, who both deserves the best, to be\n   finally together! My best wishes for you both! =)\n\n   Petrograd's message:\n   Wow, I can barely believe it finally happened... I mean, Zendroax.. \n   we've known each other for so long, he was one of the two who got me \n   to start playing this game a long time ago! Now he finally got around\n   to marrying Yelisa, it's about time. I know they've been \"thinking\"\n   about marrying for a damn long time, over a year. Well, I'm sure they'll \n   be happy together =) Rocks that they finally got married =D\n\n (\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\/\\(\\\/)\n  \\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/(\/\\)\\\/\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                Page No.: 27 |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n| Entertainment -> Cry of Despair Quest -> July's Quest Results   By: Alysira |\n+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n\nLast month, your quest was to search through the articles to try and find the\nanswer to the question, \"What did Kaiashi ask Rhadamanthus in his interview?\".\nThe answer was hidden in Artem's \"An Interview With Rhadamanthus\". I hope\neveryone found this interview insightful and answered many questions they\nmight have had concerning the future of pkill. The answer was:\n\n                        \"Kaiashi - ????????????????\/\/\/\/\/\/\"\n\nand these two people were selected randomly as winners. Congratulations to:\n   \n                              Mephie and Skaphia!\n\nPlease see me for your prizes ASAP! Thanks to everyone else who participated!\nHave fun in this month's quest on the next page!\n\n\n\n\nWhile the previous style of quests seems to be popular, I thought a break was\nin order. This month I've prepared a Find-A-Word! Hidden in this Find-A-Word\nare the names of eight deities. Find all eight, MUDmail me the list and I'll\nselect two correct answers at random as winners! Good luck and enjoy!\n\n S B R L V A J E D S      Also, a note to all who play these quests:\n K A R D I S Z B M L      Please do NOT remove your MUDmails, I take them\n F G R L K T N A C J      down just before the Cry is posted for several\n E F Q A X P L E A B      reasons. If you take your MUDmail down, it won't\n E G L C N K A I W D      be counted, so please leave it up!\n D E V H A E F B Y R\n G H W T C L D U N E      Thank you, good luck and have fun!\n C J M E R T G R U L\n P I F E S A M S Y A      -Alysira\n I K L Z W S S E O K\n\n+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n|                                                                              |\n+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n| Knowledge -> Classes -> Barbarians -> Note                        By: Genge |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nLast month in this slot, I covered Nephandi - a entirely magical class. This \nmonth I'll be covering Barbarians, an entirely physical class. As such, the \nformat will be slightly different. Last month, the article was split into \nintroduction, spell ups, spell downs, combat skills, actual use, strategy, and \na conclusion. Barbarians, like warriors and thieves, have no spells - only \nskills. As such, the spell ups and spell downs sections have been replaced by a\nsection called 'abilities', and the article itself has been expanded to give \nadvice on making a barbarian. Note that barbarian abilities, unlike some of \nthe ones from other classes (vampires, for instance), do not require mana. \nAnyways, now that that's sorted out, here's the article.\n\nBarbarians were intended to be independent from the greater RoD society, and we\nre given their own societal structure, city, academy, and run mobs to reflect \nthis. This notion is, of course, fairly idealistic on a game with a free market\neconomy, so it is either difficult or confusion for people who would normally \nconsider making a character of a new class. In response to this, I present a \nguide to making a barbarian. It is by no means definitive, merely something to \nprevent players from getting too frustrated. If you don't want advice on making\nor leveling a barbarian, skip down a few pages in the Cry to get to the \nexplanation of the class' uses as avatars.\n\nBarbarians are a Fighter genre class - they wear the same equipment as warriors\n, rangers, and paladins for the most part, with one major exception. They \ncannot wear any magical equipment, so ensuring you have a good roll is \nextremely important. Strength is the class' primary stat, constitution is \nsecondary, and intelligence is deficient. I'd recommend 18 str, 16+ dex, and \n14+ con, with any luck points on top as icing. Barbarians have a fairly limited\nselection of races, so you have two basic paths. Make a half-elf and hope you \nget high strength rolls to go with your enhanced dex, or make a half-orc\/ogre\/\ntroll\/dwarf and hope to get a good dex roll to go with your enhanced strength. \nPersonally, I'd choose a dwarf or orc for devout barbs, an ogre or troll for \nneutral, and an orc for evil. All barbs start off peaceful.\n\nOkay, so now you have to max your 25 str and 22 con. Head n,e,n from where you \nstart off. You'll now have blessing of thoric and be on the path to get the \nbasic academy equipment. Suit up, then head west two times (it's a loop, you \nfinish where you started), go south, buy some tribal runes, north, west, \nnorthwest twice, north, west, north, north. Remember this intersection, when \nyou recall by eating a tribal rune you'll end up _east_ of here. Open flap, \nfive west, open flap, and five more west. You'll be in Barren Peaks. You have \na few options now. If you have an av mage, you can astral\/portal to your new \nbarb from the Shadow Grove north of DH, and cast lspells on him, or just portal\nto him so he can enter and walk south to DH, or if you don't have a mage, you \ncan walk all the way to dh and have a bot spell you up. Chances are decent\nyou're going to need leveling spells on top of blessing in order to max your \nstr and con. You can actually level wherever you want, the class is competent \nin low level battling - they get enhanced damage and kick at level three, \nparry at seven, and second attack at nine. However, in order to practice these \nskills, you must either eat a tribal rune to recall and head back to Sigvald in\nthe Peaks, or find one of the (incredibly few) practice mobs outside of \nDarkhaven, since you cannot enter the Darkhaven Academy. Another obstacle is \nyour inability to wear magical equipment, which makes finding equipment for \nsome wearlocs somewhat difficult at lower levels (particularly about - no \nWyvern's tower cloaks or duke's robes). Some of the equipment inside of the\nPeaks is actually pretty decent. There are little quests you can do there, \nwhich I won't spoil, except to say that you'll probably want to make a point\n\nof slaying the Giant Chieftan at some point and bringing back proof to Sigvald.\nDo not attempt this before level 15. At level 18 you get three spirit based \nskills. These are good skills which give a boost in stats, but you can only \nhave one active at a time. I prefer boar hide, as it not only gives the con \nyou need so badly, but also gives a bonus to your parry skill. At level 20 you \nget dual wield, disarm at 22, dodge at 25, third attack at 28, fourth attack at\n35, charge at 41, fourth at 45, and stun at 49, so the critical skills are \ndistributed pretty evenly throughout the levels. Charge is a great skill that \nreturns good experience points, but remember that when you log off you will be \nforced to dismount and your mount will lose any spells you have on it - meaning\nyou'll have to have fly cast on it again and use hurdle to remount before you \ncan enter a battle and charge. The average barbarian level gain is 18+. You \nwill get 17s, and you will get 20s. The average gain appears to be about 18.5 \nor 18.75. The average base seems to be about 920-930, but mine has 936, so you\nmight end up with one even higher.\n\nThese are various skills Barbarians have to give themselves a boost. None of \nthem require mana, but some require components to work. Also note that only ONE\nof Bear Spirit\/Boar Hide\/Wolf Cunning may be active at a time.\n \n  - Fleetfoot: Float, essentially, except you hit the ground just as hard as \n     you would without it active. Does not evade trip. 500 rounds.\n  - Berserker Rage: You can keep fighting even when you run out of hp, until \n     you reach the point where you'd be dead instead of stunned. Then you just \n     drop. 1050 rounds.\n  - Sense Magic: Detect magic. Go figure.\n  - Eye of the Predator: Detect hidden.\n  - Bear Spirit: +2 str, +2 dr. Level*2 duration. (100 rounds)\n  - Boar Hide: +2 con, +10 parry. Level*2 duration. (100 rounds)\n  - Wolf Cunning: +2 dex, +2 hr. Level*2 duration. (100 rounds)\n  - Warsong. +1 dr, +3 hr. Low, int\/wis based duration. Learned from Keribwyn.\n  - Snake Blessing. Resist poison. Learned from Eloann\n  - Spirit Ward. Resist magic, (wis\/2 rounded down). 200ish rounds. Learned \n     from the Caekath.\n\nCOMABT SKILLS\n\nHere's a breakdown of Barbarian's battle skills:\n - Long blades:   95\n - Bludgeons:     95\n - Talonous arms: 80\n - Enhanced Dam:  95\n - Second attack: 95\n - Third attack:  95\n - Fourth attack: 95\n - Fifth attack:  85\n - Dodge:         80\n - Parry:         85 (95 with boar hide)\n - Disarm:        95\n - Dual wield:    95\n - Two handed:    65\n - Rescue:        80\n - Grip:          95\n\nThey are clearly competent melee characters, with the highest offensive \npercentages in the game, so it's entirely possible there could be a nonmagic-\nonly mob that you want to just try meleeing with dual-wielding barbarians, and \ncompletely ignore their two alpha attacks. Both alphas are strong, but both \nalso have drawbacks. Charge competes handily with circle, but in order to use \nit you must be mounted, be wielding a lance (available from the weaponshop in \nthe Village), and be in standard style or lower. Rend does damage relative to \nconstitution, but with a layerplate and boar hide, it's not difficult to max \nit out. It's a good attack, with lag similar to cleave or qlippothic shift, but\nyou cannot wield any weapons while using it - meaning you cannot parry and your\nmelee hits are all weaker. Unlike charge, however, it can be used in aggressive\n- not that 10% more melee damage matters all that much when you lose so much \ndamroll and avdam from not having weapons. Ultimately, this means that barbs \nare impractical for many situations - the mounts, while durable, will die from \nrepeated room attacks, and take up valuable tunnel space. Rend is impractical \nfor any mobs which require you to tank as well as hit. Their melee is great for\nmobs that take melee hits, but since they can't wear magic weapons, a warrior \nwith a nasr will outdamage them at any mobs that take melee hits that magic \nhits. Still, in the situations they ARE useful, they're rather good.\n\nUTILITIES\nHere are some of the other skills barbarians have.\n - Animal Empathy: Charm.\n - Summon Mount: Summons your horse back - or a new one, if it's dead.\n - Doorbash: Same as the warrior skill.\n - Hurdle: Mounts faster than 'mount'.\n - Hunt: Auto-track.\n - Sharpen: Repairs swords.\n - Commune: Trance, for hitpoints.\n - Stomp: Earthquake.\n - Bash\/Stun: Same as warrior skills.\n\nCONCLUSION\nThey're harder to level than warriors, and cannot wear Nasrs, which are two \nmajor turnoffs for most players. On the other hand, they have good alpha \nattacks and special equipment to help compensate for the lack of magic \nequipment. More importantly, it's a new way to try to play the game. All \nbarbarians start off as part of an organization, with their own town, own \ngames, and own run mobs. If you wanted to use one as a runner for high-level \nrun mobs, you'll likely be disappointed, as you've only really got a few \noptions. However, if you wanted to do one because you actually enjoy playing \nRoD, I can honestly say I rather like mine.\n\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n|                                                                             |\n+----------------------------------------------------------------------------<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Grabbing Nelkum, hoisting him .. Tokai escapes east; Genge: Barbarians +—————————————————————————–+ | Editor’s Note | | | | Roleplay, Stories and Poetry – Sub-Editor: Aragon | | Nations’ News: | | Khzad – by Romani | | Pixie – by Romani | | Quendi – by Romani | | Uruk’hai – by Romani | |…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"class_list":["post-1927","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realmsofdespair.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realmsofdespair.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realmsofdespair.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realmsofdespair.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realmsofdespair.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1927"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/realmsofdespair.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1934,"href":"https:\/\/realmsofdespair.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1927\/revisions\/1934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realmsofdespair.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}